Teams interested in signing Kylian Mbappe must be prepared to splash the cash for the prodigious Frenchman, with an algorithm estimating that the 21-year-old would cost a staggering 265 million euros (295.6 million U.S. dollars).

Paris St Germain's Neymar holds the record after his 2017 move from Barcelona for 222 million euros (247.6 million U.S. dollars), considerably more than the 180 million euros (200.7 million U.S. dollars) the Ligue 1 champions paid Monaco after completing a permanent deal for Mbappe the next year.

According to an algorithm developed by the Swiss-based CIES Football Observatory, Mbappe's value has sky-rocketed while 27-year-old Brazilian Neymar is now estimated to cost around 100 million euros (111.5 million U.S. dollars).

England forward Raheem Sterling may be worth his weight in gold for Manchester City and the study confirmed he too would eclipse Neymar after being valued at 223 million euros (248.7 million U.S. dollars).

Liverpool's Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah was third overall at an estimated value of 175 million euros (195.2 million U.S. dollars) while Lionel Messi (139.4 million U.S. dollars) and Cristiano Ronaldo (89.5 million U.S. dollars) were lower down in the list.

The study takes into account a player's performance for club and country, age, position, league of employment and economic level of the releasing club when estimating transfer values of players in Europe's "Big Five" leagues.

As many as 11 players out of the top 20 with an estimated value of at least 100 million euros (111.5 million U.S. dollars) play for Premier League clubs, it added, with Tottenham Hotspur striker and England captain Harry Kane ranked sixth with a value of 167.3 million U.S. dollars.

Liverpool have three of the costliest players in terms of playing positions, with goalkeeper Alisson estimated at 97 million U.S. dollars, center back Virgil van Dijk at 103.7 million U.S. dollars and full back Trent Alexander-Arnold at 122.7 million U.S. dollars.